Key To Her Destiny
by Vycksta
Summary: One note, thirty-four words, two possible outcomes. The day was drawing nearer to its end, could Michelle find the courage she normally has and hand this certain piece of paper over to Volkner?


**Title**: Key To Her Destiny  
**Fandom**: Pokemon  
**Ship**: Vroomshipping (( Michelle x Volkner ))  
**Rating**: Just a couple of swear words, the generic norm with moi.

**Authors Notes**: I just twigged that every time I write about Michelle it's always in one of my shorter one-shots... dammit, people won't think she's my favourite character at this rate!

Before you ask, yes Vroomshipping is official; if I write about Pokemon the name I use is taken from the list. I am also aware that this is another random pairing... let me explain. Even though she is an official character of the day I tend to use Michelle as my "Pokemon self" and Volkner? Let's just say that if he was real i'll be wearing a white coat and slapped with a restraining order. The guy is just so damn Godly to me. -raspberries- So yes, another personal ship. Even if Nynaeveshipping and Senirasushipping are my joint OTPs in this fandom.

Why I wanted to write Vroomshipping? To be honest, it's hard to explain. Well it is, it's just rather long winded. Not like you'll care anyway bwahahaha.

Reviews in general are much loved and any constructive criticism is too, as i'm always trying to improve. Flames however shall be laughed at and so will anybody telling me to stop writing about minor characters and to quit fangirling heavily over Volkner. I'm harming nobody and i'll write and fangirl over whoever I want, so go bloody deal with it.

Dedicated to the showroom at the Homebase where i'm training at, cause I love hanging around there and not getting any work done ha ha ha. -weirdo- 8D

---

It was the key to her destiny.

A square piece of paper, folded into quarters and slightly tainted at the edges from over-handling and reopening. On one side of this part of stationary were words typed up from what it was originally used for, words that now made no sense as most of them were ripped in half, yet on the other side were a few short sentences handwritten in a large, cursive font... words that were being read over and over again, words that were being spoken in a whisper by the woman clenching the paper in her left hand.

"I hope you don't think that i'm some silly little girl, but I do fancy you like mad. Just let me down gently if I have no chance, okay? I'm not good with rejection."

The note was finished with a simply drawn smiley face, the three lines used to create it being traced by the fingers of Michelle, canyon girl from Hoenn and the one who had wrote the words she has just muttered to herself.

With a sigh and a small frown appearing on her face, Michelle once again folded the piece of paper back into quarters and grimaced a little at how her hands were shaking. This was not like her in the slightest; she is a confident, headstrong young woman used to living in the rocky landscapes of Hoenn with her beloved Pokemon companion Shelgon, somebody who operates the shades that often grace over her violet eyes to predict her opponent's movements with pinpoint precision, a talented girl with dreams for the future and a personality that shines...

"Huh?" Michelle questioned, snapping out of her current train of thought at the rubbing sensation she felt against the outside of her right leg... and looked down to see Shelgon, who was clearly worried about his trainer. This made Michelle smile, crouching down nearer to the Endurance Pokemon's level and stroking the top of his shell contently.

"Don't worry, it won't be long now..." she soothed, peering through her shades at the building she was standing exceedingly close to.

The Sunyshore City Gym.

Placing her shades over her eyes to stop any strangers from peering into them, Michelle cautiously got up and walked the few steps needed to stand in front of the door to the Gym. With her hands still shaking she inched her right one closer towards the handle... and stopped just centimetres away. That feeling she was not used to was gripping her again and in an out-of-character fashion, she quickly turned back around and briskly paced back to where the confused Shelgon still stood.

"Not long to go now... oh boy, my nerves are racing so badly!" she exclaimed to Shelgon, right hand resting on her chest. "Come on... put me out of my misery here!"

The reason why Michelle originally went to Sunyshore City was because she heard about how the majority of the citizens who reside there know a great deal about technology and because the city's pavements are nothing but solar panels, two reasons that grabbed her with equal interest. With the notion of seeking to enhance her shades to a higher, more competitive level consuming her thoughts, Michelle boarded a liner from Slateport City in Hoenn to Sinnoh's Snowpoint City, arriving at Sunyshore a couple of days later with Shelgon and her determination fresh in her mind.

Now getting the shades upgraded was as simple as a Scizor in battle against a Flareon... in fact, it took nothing short of a night and a day to find someone who knew how they operated and undergo what was needed to change them. Yet there was Michelle four weeks later, still in Sunyshore City with a piece of paper in her hand spilling out her feelings in nothing more than thirty-four words and a smiley face.

The wind was blowing in a westerly direction, causing Michelle's electric purple locks to blow in an insane, twisted pattern all over her porcelain face but it wasn't enough to make her cold, as her nerves was still getting the better of her. She looked down at Shelgon, who was also unfazed by the chilling gale... and sighed once again.

"I'm being stupid, aren't I?"

"Shel-shelgon?" piped up the Pokemon's reply, glancing back at his increasingly panicking trainer.

"Ah, I guess..." Michelle spoke softly, gripping the piece of paper tighter. She then looked back at the Gym, staring at it intently before shaking her head.

"I'm sorry Shelgon, i've been such a jerk to you just lately!" she cried out, both fists now tightly clenched to prevent them from shaking any further. "I know that I have been rather ignorant of your feelings, which is highly unlike me... and yeah, your training really has been given a knockback. It's just... he needs to know how I feel. Eventually I know i'll have to return to Hoenn and it'll just aggravate me if he at least doesn't know of my attraction towards him..."

Michelle trailed off, speech of despair transforming into a silent exclamation of joy as Shelgon rubbed against her leg again, a sign that he understands and that her apology is accepted. That short display of affection would have been enough to make her feel overwhelmed but instead she composed herself temporarily and gratefully uttered two blunt words;

"Thank you."

Night was starting to paint its presence on the sky, turning an overcast grey into a beautiful royal blue that was littered with hundred of small, twinkling white stars. However this was something that Michelle failed to notice as she let knelt back down by Shelgon, wrapping her right arm around him while still holding the piece of paper, the key to her destiny, in her free hand.

"I'm really scared, Shelgon..." Michelle began, holding her Pokemon companion tighter to provide further comfort for herself. "I really am scared. This is something I have never done before... because I have never felt so strongly about someone before in all of my life."

What she had just said to Shelgon was true, to an extent. Michelle has been fortunate enough to find the one thing that many people feel is the main focus to life apart from Pokemon... love... a couple of times. She loved them as much as they loved her yet her refusal to commit to a long-term relationship, preferring to raise Shelgon, who back a Bagon back then, as well as enjoying the independence living in the canyons of Hoenn gave her, always blighted them and was always the cause of the break-up. However the love she had for her past partners severely paled to her current feelings towards her latest crush.

Somebody who, like Michelle, had dreams for the future and was constantly working on them... somebody with the same level of independence as her and held a noticeable amount of devotion towards one Pokemon. A person who had a great deal of importance to the area where she was staying, a young man who had worked his way up the ranks to eventually become the Gym Leader of Sunyshore City.

Volkner.

Tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ears, Michelle remembers with a great fondness of the time that she first met Volkner. It was the day that she arrived at Sunyshore City. Confused as to where to find someone willing to aid her in her mini quest and to find somewhere to stay the night she rushed confidently over to the first person she could see to ask for some assistance. Coincidentally that person just happened to be Volkner, who was taking a break from renovating his gym for the umpteenth time. Directions were given, thank yous were hollered... and an attraction was developed on Michelle's part.

There was a small piece of Michelle who was cursing herself for developing feelings towards someone she had basically just met but she did nothing to stop it. In fact she did everything in her power to fuel her infatuation towards Volkner in a demure, somewhat immature fashion that was definitely out of her character.

It started with watching him from a distance, observing his every action from under her shades and sharply looking away whenever he glanced in her general direction. A few days passed before Michelle got the courage to follow him around like a lovestruck Growlithe whenever he ventured out of the gym, getting a general idea for how the Sunyshore Gym Leader spends a waking day and developing a kick for hiding whenever Volkner assumed he was being followed. Admittedly Michelle felt bad for how she was behaving, mainly down to her putting Shelgon's training on hold while she let herself be led by her heart... every time she did think that though she ignored it. This was something she couldn't simply cast idly to one side.

However over the last week things changed somewhat...

Whenever Michelle got Volkner's gaze it seemed to last for just a couple of seconds longer than normal, something that made her up the ante. She ended up developing a habit of just joyfully wandering around his Gym hoping to catch another glimpse, hoping to see him without his jacket on, hoping that he would get the hint. Michelle also managed to gather some of the courage she usually displays and ask Volkner about his plans for the day one bright morning, hanging onto his every word like a Cradily on the seafloor.

Part of her did wonder why she was bothering; she learnt from her time in the city that Volkner was a man who seemed to have a platoon of admirers, all exceptionally beautiful... and she also mentally claimed that Volkner must think that she is a freak for acting how she has been. Two facts that were enough to deter her... at the same time, two facts that were enough to convince the woman from Hoenn that she had to tell Volkner how she felt, especially as she knew she had to return to her home region pretty sharpish.

So there Michelle was, waiting impatiently outside Volkner's gym with her handwritten note addressed to him and spilling out her feelings. No mistaking it, this was the best time to do such a thing. When he leaves his Gym for the night, when nobody else is watching...

"I am so scared, I am so scared, I am so scared..." Michelle gibbered to herself, still with her right arm wrapped around Shelgon for support and courage. "Yet I have to do this, he has to know, he MUST know because i'll have to return to Hoenn soon... yes, he MUST know." she continued to waffle on, Shelgon choosing to stay silent as he had no idea what it was like to develop romantic feelings towards anybody.

With night now firmly settling in and the gale gathering up enough speed to knock hats of heads and scatter dropped litter along the ground, Michelle finally started to shiver from the cold but refused to rub her arms because of the piece of paper still gripped firmly in her hand. She was about to start nattering away to Shelgon again about how much she needs to tell Volkner of her feelings when she sensed that she was being watched. Michelle turned to her right...

Standing a short distance away from Michelle was another woman, with long, flowing blonde hair that cascaded past her shoulders. She was dressed in a simple black t-shirt and a plain pair of black trousers, the outfit completed with a pair of ebony coloured kitten heels. While the colour of this woman's eyes couldn't be told because of the dark of the night, Michelle knew that they were boring into her... and taking the confidence she had about handing Volkner her vote with it.

"Oh shit, I can't do this!" the purple hair woman proclaimed, standing up suddenly and startling Shelgon in the process. "Not now she's watching me... come on Shelgon, we're going!"

"Shel shel Shelgon?" her Pokemon questioned in response, clearly bemused by his trainer's sudden change of heart.

Michelle, having been with him for many years, instantly twigged onto Shelgon's confusion but still ushered him to follow her as human and Pokemon walked away from the entrance to Sunyshore City's Gym. "It's just not meant to be, alright?" she insisted through gritted teeth.

"Shelgon."

"Don't argue with me."

"Shel shelgon shel shel gon gon shelgon shel shelGON!"

"Alright, I KNOW it's just one person!" Michelle snapped at Shelgon, throwing her hands up in the air but still keeping a tight grip on her note. "But that's one person too many! I wanted it to be just me and him because i'm just so paranoid! I don't want other people to know of my feelings just yet, not when there's a part of me that feels that he looks at me and thinks i'm a pathetic stalker, an immature moron..."

Her voice faded as suddenly as the wind did as Michelle glanced back towards the entrance to Volkner's Gym. Finally placing her shades back on her head because of the deep colours of the night, Michelle noticed that the woman who was observing her a mere two minutes ago was walking away from the spot where she was standing... and before Michelle could make head or tail of the situation a blonde haired man dressed in a navy blue jacket and black jeans strolled nonchalantly out of the Gym. Michelle instantly recognised the figure that emerged and grabbed her hair with her hands, staring after Volkner as he continued to stroll.

"Oh fuck NO!" Michelle wailed, knees buckling a little and her head now facing towards the night-time sky. "This is like a nightmare coming true! Why was I so bloody foolish to walk away? Why did I mess it up?"

Shelgon, now confused as to whether Michelle was talking to herself or to him, was going to say something in reply but stopped, choosing to quietly observe the scene that was unfolding in front of him.

It was like her self-pitying wails were heard as Volkner stopped walking and turned to face Michelle. A few seconds passed before she twigged that she was being watched again and in one sharp movement Michelle was back standing straight, a light red flush going across her face as she stared at Volkner in the way he was glancing at her. Michelle and Volkner's gaze remained unwavering for what seemed like an eternity before the Sunyshore Gym Leader broke it off with a smile that was enough to melt butter. The girl from the canyons then found herself grinning back, practically squealing in delight when Volkner's response was to nod, smile wider and set off towards wherever he was heading to.

With her mouth open and the flush on her cheeks refusing to disappear, Michelle watched Volkner intently, observing every second that he was still in her vision. When he was finally out of view she suddenly developed the urge to cry out in happiness like a child in a candy store, jumping into the air with fists clenched and arms out wide.

"Never say never, huh Shelgon?" she stated proudly, confidence clearly returning to her as she adjusted her shades and grinned contently.

The Endurance Pokemon cried out his equally gleeful response; it made him happy to see his trainer and his best friend like this. Michelle giggled at her beloved Pokemon companion before realizing something...

Opening her left hand with utmost delicacy, the purple haired woman stared at the now crumpled piece of paper. Smiling, she unfolded it and read the words out aloud for possibly the hundredth time since she wrote it.

"I hope you don't think that i'm some silly little girl, but I do fancy you like mad. Just let me down gently if I have no chance, okay? I'm not good with rejection."

Joyfully, Michelle folded her note up and traced the edges of it somewhat apathetically. Then with utmost determination she tucked it into one of her arm length magenta coloured gloves, placed her hands on her hips and, in unison with Shelgon, turned back to face the Sunyshore City Gym, where the guy she fancied, Volkner, would be tomorrow.

He may not be attracted to her like she was to him and may only see her as a great friend, but that was not enough to knock Michelle back, not anymore. There clearly is something there regardless and Michelle was determined to find out exactly what, with the help of the piece of paper that was now residing in her glove. She had a few days left in the Sinnoh region and tomorrow would definitely be the time to act and the time to hand Volkner that note and see what drama unfolded next.

It was the key to her destiny.


End file.
